Naval officer; born in Tacumshane,
Wexford co.,
Ireland, in 1745.
He went to sea while he was very young, became the commander of a ship, and gained considerable wealth.
In February, 1776, he was appointed by Congress to command the
Lexington, fourteen guns, which, after a sharp action, captured the tender
Edward.
This was the first
vessel captured by a commissioned officer of the United States navy.
Barry
[
289]
was transferred to the frigate
Effingham; and in the
Delaware, at the head of four boats, he captured an English schooner,
in 1777, without the loss of a man. He was publicly thanked by
Washington.
When
Howe took
Philadelphia, late in 1777,
Barry took the
Effingham up the
Delaware with the hope the
Delaware with the hope of saving her, but she was burned by the
British.
Howe had offered him a large bribe if he would deliver the ship to him at
Philadelphia, but it was scornfully rejected.
Barry took command of the
Raleigh, 32, in September, 1778, but British cruisers compelled him to run her ashore in
Penobscot Bay.
In the frigate
Alliance, in 1781, he sailed for
France with
Col. John Laurens, who was sent on a special mission; and afterwards he cruised successfully with that ship.
At the close of May he captured the
Atlanta and
Trespass, after a severe fight.
Returning in October, the
Alliance was refitted, and, after taking
Lafayette and the
Count de Noailles to
France,
Barry cruised in the
West Indies very successfully until May, 1782.
After the reorganization of the
United States navy in 1794,
Barry was named the
senior officer.
He superintended the building of the frigate
United States, to the command of which he was assigned, but never entered upon the duty.
He died in
Philadelphia, Sept. 13, 1803.
